The undead and Gotham City's favourite son: The Dark Knight depicted by Gene Colan for the splash page of Batman #351 (September 1982).
IN 1970, artist and historian Jim Steranko wrote in The Steranko History of Comics: "Heavily steeped in Teutonic atmosphere, Batman conjured up visions of vampires with his black cloak, grim visage and white slit eyes. He moved through cubist backgrounds of warped perspectives and paranoiac tilt shots, of shadows and silhouettes that gave credence to the thought that he was more bat than man."
There is undoubtedly a subliminal connection between the vampire myth and the original specification of Batman. In an attempt to strike fear into the hearts of criminals and become a creature of the night, one of The Caped Crusader's inspirations was Bela Lugosi in Universal's 1931 DRACULA. Indeed, an initial foe was The Monk - a red suited vampire and hypnotist - that shows even during the early years the notion was firmly in play. Similarly Neal Adams - whose dynamic style restored Batman to his dark roots - cited Christopher Lee and the use of his cape as a major influence. In 1968, when the artist began his approach to the character, Lee was making his third appearance as The Count for Hammer with DRACULA HAS RISEN FROM THE GRAVE.
In the Detective Comics story Heart of a Vampire, after being dismissed from medical school, Gustav DeCobra continued his unorthodox experiments by robbing graves, which unfortunately included the resting place of a bloodsucker.
The most literal merging of these two pop culture icons occurred in Detective Comics #455 (January 1976). Heart of a Vampire - written by Elliot S. Maggin and illustrated by Mike Grell (from uncredited thumbnails by Bernie Wrightson) - begins with Alfred and Bruce Wayne's car overheating miles outside of Gotham. When they enter a boarded-up house to find water for the radiator, they discover a coffin and vampire Gustav DeCobra. Batman puts a wooden stake through Gustav's chest, but hasn't penetrated the heart. A former doctor, DeCobra's research was in heart transplants, and Batman realises that he may have surgically moved his organ elsewhere. To find it, Bruce fights Gustav vigorously and listens for a rapid heartbeat; Batman notices that the grandfather clock gets louder as the confrontation progresses and grabs a wooden bow and arrow. Shooting the clock where the vampire had placed his heart, DeCobra dies as his corpse turns to a skeleton at the break of dawn.
Using photographic reference, Grell draws DeCobra as Christopher Lee, though the artist reluctantly changed the hair style and nose (and added a scar) at the insistence of editor Julie Schwartz. In addition, Heart of a Vampire references Hammer design and narrative: the house interior resembles the 1958 DRACULA (the tale also mimics the climactic battle), and a closeup of the coffin's padlock - dropping onto the floor without opening - is a direct lift from the non-Lee BRIDES OF DRACULA.